An Algebraic Approach to Mso-Definability on Countable Linear Orderings

We develop an algebraic notion of recognizability for languages of words indexed by countable linear orderings. We prove that this notion is effectively equivalent to definability in monadic second-order (MSO) logic. We also provide three logical applications. First, we establish the first known collapse result for the quantifier alternation of MSO logic over countable linear orderings. Second, we solve an open problem posed by Gurevich and Rabinovich, concerning the MSO-definability of sets of rational numbers using the reals in the background. Third, we establish the MSO-definability of the set of yields induced by an MSO-definable set of trees, confirming a conjecture posed by Bruyère, Carton, and Sénizergues

What Makes a Computation Unconventional?

A coherent mathematical overview of computation and its generalisations is described. This conceptual framework is sufficient to comfortably host a wide range of contemporary thinking on embodied computation and its models.Comment: Based on an invited lecture for the 'Symposium on Natural/Unconventional Computing and Its Philosophical Significance' at the AISB/IACAP World Congress 2012, University of Birmingham, July 2-6, 201

The prospects for mathematical logic in the twenty-first century

The four authors present their speculations about the future developments of mathematical logic in the twenty-first century. The areas of recursion theory, proof theory and logic for computer science, model theory, and set theory are discussed independently.Comment: Association for Symbolic Logi

Uniform Definability in Propositional Dependence Logic

Both propositional dependence logic and inquisitive logic are expressively complete. As a consequence, every formula with intuitionistic disjunction or intuitionistic implication can be translated equivalently into a formula in the language of propositional dependence logic without these two connectives. We show that although such a (non-compositional) translation exists, neither intuitionistic disjunction nor intuitionistic implication is uniformly definable in propositional dependence logic

Are Newtonian Gravitation and Geometrized Newtonian Gravitation Theoretically Equivalent?

I argue that a criterion of theoretical equivalence due to Clark Glymour [Nous 11(3), 227-251 (1977)] does not capture an important sense in which two theories may be equivalent. I then motivate and state an alternative criterion that does capture the sense of equivalence I have in mind. The principal claim of the paper is that relative to this second criterion, the answer to the question posed in the title is "yes", at least on one natural understanding of Newtonian gravitation.Comment: 27 page

Deciding definability in FO2(<h,<v) on trees

We provide a decidable characterization of regular forest languages definable in FO2(<h,<v). By FO2(<h,<v) we refer to the two variable fragment of first order logic built from the descendant relation and the following sibling relation. In terms of expressive power it corresponds to a fragment of the navigational core of XPath that contains modalities for going up to some ancestor, down to some descendant, left to some preceding sibling, and right to some following sibling. We also show that our techniques can be applied to other two variable first-order logics having exactly the same vertical modalities as FO2(<h,<v) but having different horizontal modalities

Definability of groups in ℵ0\aleph_0-stable metric structures

We prove that in a continuous $\aleph_0$-stable theory every type-definable group is definable. The two main ingredients in the proof are: \begin{enumerate} \item Results concerning Morley ranks (i.e., Cantor-Bendixson ranks) from \cite{BenYaacov:TopometricSpacesAndPerturbations}, allowing us to prove the theorem in case the metric is invariant under the group action; and \item Results concerning the existence of translation-invariant definable metrics on type-definable groups and the extension of partial definable metrics to total ones. \end{enumerate